Probation for most in cockfight case

Thirteen defendants pleaded guilty and were sentenced last week for their roles in a cockfighting match in Feltonville earlier this year, the District Attorney’s Office has announced.

Police entered a home Jan. 23 on Loudon Street near 3rd after hearing roosters and commotion coming from the basement. Cops walked in as two birds battled.

Only one of the defendants, Ismael Rodriguez, 36, the owner of the house where the cockfight was uncovered, was charged with animal cruelty, a felony.

The rest pleaded guilty to animal neglect and received five years’ probation and were forced to pay $500 to the Pennsylvania Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, according to the D.A.’s Office.

Rodriguez, who claimed in January that he was unaware of the cockfighting in his basement, was sentenced to six to 12 months’ house arrest, then five years’ probation, and must pay $10,000 to the PSPCA.

Rodriguez is prohibited from owning or caring for animals for six years, and the others are banned for five years, the D.A.’s office said.